Political shows’ negative focus on Islam erodes social cohesion, says cultural council

Kate Connolly in Berlin

Wed 13 Jun 2018 00.00 EDT
Last modified on Wed 13 Jun 2018 13.27 EDT

AfD supporters in Berlin protest in May 2018.
AfD supporters in Berlin protest in May 2018. Olaf Zimmermann says public broadcasters are obsessed with refugee-related issues. Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP

The head of Germany’s most powerful cultural body has called for the plug to be pulled on the nation’s multitude of political talkshows for a year, arguing that their populist agenda has helped fuel the rise of the far right.

Olaf Zimmermann, who heads the German cultural council, an umbrella group for organisations from art galleries to television companies, said public broadcasters needed to step back and rethink a format that has helped cement gloom-ridden public attitudes towards refugees and Islam, and propelled the Alternative für Deutschland party into parliament at last September’s election.

“"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros

That G7 photo is getting a lot of attention, which is why I thought this was interesting:

"But of all the ways the internet has gotten exponentially worse in every possible direction, one extremely stupid trend has really caught fire in the past year, even among seemingly reasonable people. It's finding DEEP, VIRAL MEANING in a single photo of a public figure's facial expression or body language."

While the article is talking about Greek debt, it can also apply to other heavily indebted European nations, which for some reason are all in the South.

Get rid of the Euro. Simple as that!

Let the component countries of the EU regress back to their old currencies with floating exchange rates to permit adjustments in exchange rates to reflect the varying strengths of Europe's component national economies. There is no justification for a common European currency which only creates unsustainable imbalances due to the simple (I would think, obvious) fact that the performance of of the different national economies is, always has been and probably always will be, very unequal.

The Euro was in any case concocted in the late 1990's as a political currency jointly by the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterrand: both of whom combined a near obsession with furthering European unity with an utter cluelessness as to how economics actually works.

While the article is talking about Greek debt, it can also apply to other heavily indebted European nations, which for some reason are all in the South.

Get rid of the Euro. Simple as that!

Let the component countries of the EU regress back to their old currencies with floating exchange rates to permit adjustments in exchange rates to reflect the varying strengths of Europe's component national economies. There is no justification for a common European currency which only creates unsustainable imbalances due to the simple (I would think, obvious) fact that the performance of of the different national economies is, always has been and probably always will be, very unequal.

The Euro was in any case concocted in the late 1990's as a political currency jointly by the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterrand: both of whom combined a near obsession with furthering European unity with an utter cluelessness as to how economics actually works.

Let the component countries of the EU regress back to their old currencies with floating exchange rates to permit adjustments in exchange rates to reflect the varying strengths of Europe's component national economies. There is no justification for a common European currency which only creates unsustainable imbalances due to the simple (I would think, obvious) fact that the performance of of the different national economies is, always has been and probably always will be, very unequal.

Even with economies with different levels of development, a common currency can be kept without problems if all member states have balanced trade. Without a trade deficit any European country may stay in the euro zone. Even relatively poorer countries like Portugal, Spain or Greece.

And if anyone thinks that balanced trade is not possible without a national currency, let me tell you that all you need is investment directed at making the economy more competitive. Competitiveness based on floating currencies is always a very short term solution, which is the same to say that it is no solution at all.

Let the component countries of the EU regress back to their old currencies with floating exchange rates to permit adjustments in exchange rates to reflect the varying strengths of Europe's component national economies. There is no justification for a common European currency which only creates unsustainable imbalances due to the simple (I would think, obvious) fact that the performance of of the different national economies is, always has been and probably always will be, very unequal.

Even with economies with different levels of development, a common currency can be kept without problems if all member states have balanced trade. Without a trade deficit any European country may stay in the euro zone. Even relatively poorer countries like Portugal, Spain or Greece.

And if anyone thinks that balanced trade is not possible without a national currency, let me tell you that all you need is investment directed at making the economy more competitive.

You talk as if you can command the "waves" as King Cnut demonstrated he could not. Investments are like the waves. You cannot wave a magic wand and expect businessmen to invest. They only invest if they think they can make a profit. This depends on many things - taxation (the lower the better), regulation (the less the better), the attitude of workers (the more diligent the better), the skills of the workers, availability of raw materials etc.

Some things are beyond anyone's control such as availability of raw materials. But other things are within the country's control - taxation, regulation and work attitudes. Needless to say, the left typically sets policies that deter investments because they like to raise taxes, increase regulations and install elaborate welfare states that make people lazy.

That G7 photo is getting a lot of attention, which is why I thought this was interesting:

"But of all the ways the internet has gotten exponentially worse in every possible direction, one extremely stupid trend has really caught fire in the past year, even among seemingly reasonable people. It's finding DEEP, VIRAL MEANING in a single photo of a public figure's facial expression or body language."